Taking art for a ride
Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy
I recently returned from a trip to New York City and visited Luna park. Nope, not that one. With winter winds whipping down the boardwalk at Coney Island, the rides at Luna Park along with the rest of the amusements at the Brooklyn landmark are closed for the season. I went to Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, which is described as the “world’s first and only art amusement park.”
First, some background. Musician, filmmaker, and artist Andre Heller developed the original Luna Luna, which was part amusement park and part art installation, in Germany. He commissioned a who’s who of noted artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein, to put their own spin on amusement park rides, attractions, and games and invited the public to experience his colorful, offbeat midway. After a successful run in 1987, the one-of-a-kind rides and artifacts were stored in shipping containers and somehow ended up in a Texas warehouse where they were mostly forgotten.
As if this story wasn’t already strange enough, Drake (yup, that one) helped rediscover and restore the treasures. Almost 40 years after its inception, the revived Luna Luna is on tour and currently delighting guests at The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan through February 23.
There are some notable distinctions between the original park and the version now on tour. Whereas Luna Luna was first presented outdoors at a fairgrounds in Hamburg, it is now located indoors. (Which is great, considering the winter winds were whipping at Hudson Yards.) Not all of the rides are part of the revival, and guests cannot hop aboard those that are. Heller created an actual, working amusement park, where visitors could purchase tickets and give the unusual rides a whirl. To help protect the valuable art pieces, guests can only gawk at them now.
Park fans would recognize many of the attractions. There is a swing ride, perhaps manufactured by Bertazzon, for example. Instead of the Victorian-era artwork that usually appears on the midway staple however, artist Kenny Scharf embellished the Luna Luna ride with cartoonish characters. An antique Ferris wheel from the 1930s bears Basquiat’s provocative drawings. The unmistakable, playful figures of Keith Haring adorn a small carousel. While nobody is allowed to climb onto one of his brightly colored chariots or any of the other rides, they do periodically start spinning and give the exhibit space a kinetic sense of energy.
The rides may be off limits, but that doesn’t mean Luna Luna guests can’t interact with some of the attractions. For example, entering the geodesic dome that Salvador Dalí crafted, visitors can see themselves reflected to infinity in the mirrored panels that line its walls. Shifting colored lights enhance the ambiance. Luna Luna wasn’t the first time that the famed surrealist dabbled in attractions. For the 1939 New York World’s Fair, he created Dream of Venus, a walk-through funhouse. While Dalí never contributed to Disneyland, he did work with Walt Disney on the animated short, “Destino.” The film served as the inspiration for the Gran Destino Tower at Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort. The eccentric artist’s style is evident throughout the property, especially in the rooftop Dahlia Lounge, which is named after the lead character of “Destino.”
Lichtenstein designed the exterior panels of a fairly standard mirror maze, which guests of the touring exhibit can navigate. Interestingly, the soundtrack for the maze features the atonal music of composer Phillip Glass. It serves to further disorient those attempting to make their way through the labyrinth. Heller, Luna Luna’s visionary, got a kick out of using Glass’s music in a maze made of glass.
Music and sound design are an important component of the multi-sensory exhibit. Composers as varied as jazz musician Miles Davis and waltz wunderkind Johann Strauss are on the playlist alongside more lighthearted tunes. The lighting in the two main exhibit halls, which is mighty impressive, constantly changes. Rides will spring to life, accompanied by music and synchronized lights mounted on overhead rigs and along the walls. As at the original Luna Luna, live performers make their way through the crowds and interact with guests.
How was Heller able to corral such an impressive roster of artists to contribute to his unconventional park?
“It was so simple, I can hardly believe it,” he said, according to a wall label at the exhibit. “I asked everyone the same questions: Have you ever been a child? Yes. As a child, did you visit an amusement park? Yes. Did you like it? Yes."
In a video at the exhibit, Keith Haring explained why he got involved with Luna Luna.
“Immediately I thought the idea sounded great. Because it is, in a way, something that has been a fantasy of mine since the first time that I went to Disneyland.”
It’s fitting that Luna Luna is showing in New York. Luna Park operated at Coney Island from 1903 to 1944. It was so famous, “Luna Park” was almost synonymous with “amusement park” in the early years of the 20th century. It inspired operators around the world to give their parks the same name, many of which remain open today in places as varied as Australia, France, and Azerbaijan. In 2010, the former Astroland at Coney Island was renamed Luna Park.
Might you visit Luna Luna in New York or if the touring exhibit comes to a location near you? What do you think about amusement parks as a medium for art?
Very, very cool! I love amusement park/theme park history, so this sounds right up my alley.
As far as amusement parks as a medium for art, I think it's a perfect fit. If you look at even the lowly county fair, you'll find amazing examples of airbrushed artistry on the sides of funhouses and flat rides. As a kid I remember being fascinated more by the artistic depictions on the sides of the rides more than the actual rides themselves.
If you think about it, a lot of our views of past generations are shaped by what those generations were entertained by. Music, movies, theater, television. Amusement parks fit neatly into that concept. Case in point, I greatly enjoyed the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco which houses a large collection of vintage coin-operated amusements.